Musings

Grace Tan In Casual Portraits, Family + Children Portraits, For Photographers, Life, Maternity, Musings, Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits, Promotions, Relationships

July & August 2013 Portrait Promo

Someone wise told me, the only asset that is truly valuable is time. I’ve always been a person who waltzes through life, never really having any set goals, but now, as I am in my mid-30s, having been married for 7 years and as a mother of a 7 month old daughter, I realize I cannot just let life pass me by.

All the more so as I see my sick, ageing parents who are approaching their 80s. I am a little sad that my dad, with his Azheimer’s, will never know his grandchild. My mom, who suffered from stroke in the past, cannot carry my 7kg daughter in her arms.

But I am glad that I had the photos from when Krysta was a newborn, and my mom could still manage to hold her, even though it was for a short period of time.

Or those images of my family when my dad still had traces of his personality intact. (Or that video of my dad singing at my wedding… even though he had forgotten the lyrics to the song… he was just diagnosed with Alzheimer’s then).

I know that I can never turn back the clock to experience these things again. So time is truly precious to me.

Relationships matter.

That’s why we would love to help you record these memories with the most important people in your life. This July and August, book a pre-wedding or lifestyle portrait shoot with us and you’ll not only get to immortalize these moments, but enjoy a discount on our packages.

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Do email us for a full list of our services and discounted rates. Photography must be done within the months of July and August 2013 (subject to availability). We hope to see you soon!

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Grace Tan In Casual Portraits, Family + Children Portraits, For Photographers, Maternity, Musings, Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits, Running a Business, Tips + Ideas

Bloom Workshops #3: Portraits in Penang

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Bloom Workshops is back once again this year for another round of teaching, learning and absorbing all sorts of photography goodness from each other! We ran 2 successful workshops last year – the first was themed “Empowering Female Photographers” and the second, “From Passion to Skill”. This time, we’re headed to the beautiful island of Penang for some inspiring time with each other. You don’t have to be a pro-photographer to attend, as long as you have an interest in photography, this workshop is for you. It’s open to both male and female participants (yes, people do ask!).

The early bird registrations end by 1st of July, but if you do manage to gather a group of 2 other friends who are interested, you can still enjoy the rate of RM1,100 as long as you register before the 9th of August 2013. Three days of goodness together!

The main topics you’ll be learning will be about posing and lighting. We will teach you all sorts of skills on posing couples, plus-sized people, couples with height differences, large groups, families, children and more! One of the practical session involves a trip to the beach and we’ll learn how to do shots like these:

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You’ll also learn how to pose large groups like these:

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Grace Tan In Casual Portraits, Family + Children Portraits, For Photographers, Musings, Portraits, Relationships

Stories Family Feature: Diane Lee

Since this blog is mainly managed and written by me, Grace, I thought that it’d be great if the readers of this blog could get to know the people behind the Stories family a little better. I am really thankful for these amazing group of people who have been ever so supportive and working oh-so-hard to make sure everything is in order!

Today, we’re featuring Diane… probably the very first person you’ll come into contact with whenever you call the Stories line or email us through our website. She has been working with us for 2 years now and is a crucial link to everything because she communicates with everyone before and after a shoot. Diane is a bubbly person whose laugh matches her personality. She can speak to anyone and everyone, and lights up a room just by her presence (and singing, sometimes!). The photos featured here were taken by Diane. Read on about her!

1. Describe what you do at Stories and what you love about your role as a Studio Manager and Photographer.

As the Studio Manager, I am the bridge and communicator between the clients and the team. I am also the one replying all your emails and calls. I enjoy knowing our clients personally – to know their different personalities, hear about the things they have planned for their weddings and hear their excitement for their own weddings. I also shoot family portraits for Stories.

* View more of the Chong family portraits here. Continue Reading

Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Life, Musings, Portraits, Relationships

Happy Father’s Day, Dad!

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Hey dad, it’s me, Krysta! I just want to let you know that you’re the most awesome, super dad I’ve ever known in the past 6 months of my life. I love you soooooo much…Cause you carry me when I’m tired and cranky. You wake up many times throughout the night to feed or pat me back to sleep (especially on nights when mum has to wake up early for a shoot the next day, or when she’s away in Langkawi!).

You brought me for my first dip in the pool at Phuket, and my swimming lessons have been fun because of you! Even though I was afraid to go underwater, you held me tight and comforted me after that.

I love bouncing on your lap or your shoulder and playing with you every morning. We’ve traveled soooo far together (to Thailand 3 times already!) and I love every moment together. You’re really fun, dad. You let me sit on the sand, drink water from a straw, we’ve been on boat rides and tuk tuk rides together…I can’t wait for more adventures with you!

Thank you for loving mum too. She’s amazing. Please remember to buy her gifts and bring her for holidays too at least twice a year. (No, she didn’t pay me to say this!)

I love you dad.

Your darling daughter, Krysta Myra Lam

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Grace Tan In Church Weddings, International, Life, Musings, Weddings

Myanmar Wedding: Bobo and Catherine

Catherine and Bobo are in their twenties and in love. They are youthful, enjoy life, love the Lord, and dream of a future together. Pretty much with the same dreams as any average young adult Malaysian. The only difference is that they are living in Malaysia as refugees. When Catherine traveled thousands of kilometres by land from her Myanmar home to Malaysia years ago, she had to face many uncertainties, fears and hardships as she made the journey here.

She moved to Malaysia because she wanted to help her parents who are pastors in Myanmar to support their younger siblings through school. Even though she didn’t know anyone in Malaysia then, she left the comforts of her home to a foreign land, alone. Somehow, God connected her to some other Myanmar nationals who were also seeking refuge in Malaysia. And it was there that she found a church to belong to – a church that spoke her language and were filled with her own countryfolk.

Interestingly, Catherine got to know Bobo at church, but only got to know him better at another Myanmar refugee wedding we photographed 2 years ago. When I asked Catherine what attracted her to Bobo… she answered without hesitating… “I love how he loves the Lord.”

Since most of their friends (including them) work at restaurants or boutiques in shopping malls that close after 10pm, it’s natural that the only time they can conduct a wedding is at midnight.

How our paths crossed
One day, I got a FB message from a girl named Sheryl asking if I could recommend a place where Catherine could get a wedding gown for under RM400. This girl Catherine also had in mind to send the gown back to Myanmar to her father’s church after her wedding so that it could help other girls who couldn’t really afford a gown. After a few messages, I told her that I had my old wedding gown which I could give to her if she was keen on having it (since we were both petite at XS size). I met her in church one day, and gave her 2 of my wedding gowns to choose from. It fit her to a T! It was really special to see that my gown went to someone who appreciated it so muchI also want to thank the team of people who came together to make this wedding memorable for Catherine and Bobo. They include:

Make up & hair for bride: Michelle Touche
Make up & hair for bridesmaids: Shinny Ong
Photographers & Videographers: Stories.my (Ben, Diane, Grace, Wee Liem and Johan)
Wedding Cake & Catering: Makanlah Now
Church: DUMC